To create the biggest of the big, Twin Cam 96 crankcases are machined to accept a pair of big-bore cylinders. Inside, 4.0-inch pistons move through the same 4.4-inch stroke employed in the TC96. But because bigger, heavier pistons would net more vibration along with more power, the 110’s forged slugs are light. Reciprocating mass is essentially the same as in the smaller-bore 96, so both engines use the same crankshaft, flywheel and anti-vibe hardware.

The overriding characteristic of the huge V-twin is the honkingly massive amount of torque available. A peak of 115[ftlb] come in at a barely-above tickover 2500rpm. This makes the bike exceptionally fast off the line with no rider effort. Big V-twins are never silky smooth but it’s better than most. It’s a high tech engine, not simply a bored out antique.

For a while I was a little miffed by the Deluxe's conflicting identity. Is it a tourer? Well, it can't be a full-blown long-distance machine because it lacks some of the amenities offered on luxo-barges like the Honda Gold Wing and BMW K1200LT. But then again, it's not really a cruiser because, well, it's a V-4, and not a very quick one at that. At first, I wasn't truly convinced there was any market for this machine because it didn't have any concrete identity.

The Nightster isn't exactly light at a claimed 545lb dry weight (claimed 565lbs ready-to-run), but the center of gravity is fairly low, and this combines with the wide bars to make aggressive riding easy, even at around-town speeds. Out of all the cruisers I've ridden, the Nightster would be high on my list if my plans involved a lot of city riding - it's almost like a (really low) standard in terms of how it attacks city traffic. Just be careful of those wide bars while splitting lanes!

...the incredible diesel device I found waiting for me to ride in the Bavarian countryside south of Munich, masquerading at a swift glance as an American-style cruiser with a big parallel-twin motor that could easily resemble Triumph's forthcoming 1500cc custom, is a bike literally unlike any other, and not only because of its choice of fuel.

The V Star 650 is a shaft driven [motorcycle] which was important to me as it means less maintenance in general. The trade-off is the shaft drive sucks a little of the power so the V Star has less hp than [motorcycles] of similar size. Having said that, I've never wanted for more power while riding the V Star as it has plenty of power for highway cruising at 75mph and acceleration is good for passing and entering freeways. I've not ridden with a passenger, but the [motorcycle] has plenty of power to move my 225 pounds without effort.

With a relatively modest 68 horsepower on tap, acceleration is predictably stately. On the plus side, the Twin Cam 88 starts making acres of torque just a few hundred rpm above idle. Power flows seamlessly from there, so shift when you feel like it. Aside from the endemic H-D clunk between gears, the five-speed gearbox on our bike shifted flawlessly.

If the Rune is a gift, the eye is the first to profit. Never have we seen such finesse -- such attention to detail -- in a production [motorycle]. There is hardly a physical flaw to grumble over, and the closest we've come is to criticize the Rune logo on the sleek, seamless tank, which appears to be a stick-on graphic that causes a rise in the thick clearcoat. A Princess and the Pea issue, for sure. We adore [its] '50s-hotrod-meets-Rocketeer styling, but the thing that really makes it work is the depth of detail. The [Rune] is totally integrated "like a puzzle," says Blank. "Each layer must be absolutely perfect before the next layer is applied." These [motorcycles] are built on a line, but at a speed that lends to a "handcrafted" result. "There are so many white glove inspections," says Blank, "that the approval process takes as long as it does to build some other [motorcycles]."